


Because He's a Bad Person

by SingingInTheRaiin



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Auror Harry Potter, Desperate times call for desperate measures, Gen, M/M, Magic, Merope Gaunt is technically here, Post-Canon, Tea with the enemy, Time Travel, co-parenting with the enemy, sharing a bed with the enemy, the legal system, when can you no longer consider someone your enemy?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-15 00:20:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,033
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21024653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingingInTheRaiin/pseuds/SingingInTheRaiin
Summary: "Harry sat her down and held her close before telling her the terrible news. “Rosena, I know this is probably going to be difficult for you to hear, but your father has been arrested.”The little girl narrowed her eyes, and put her hands on her hips. “Why?” she demanded with all the bossiness of a child who didn’t yet understand how little power she had in the world.Harry closed his eyes for a moment as he took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He could tell that despite her young age, this wasn’t a child who could be lied to. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but… it’s because he’s a bad person.”





	Because He's a Bad Person

Harry sat her down and held her close before telling her the terrible news. “Rosena, I know this is probably going to be difficult for you to hear, but your father has been arrested.”

The little girl narrowed her eyes, and put her hands on her hips. “Why?” she demanded with all the bossiness of a child who didn’t yet understand how little power she had in the world. 

Harry closed his eyes for a moment as he took in a deep breath, then slowly let it out. He could tell that despite her young age, this wasn’t a child who could be lied to. “I hate to be the one to tell you this, but… it’s because he’s a bad person.”

Rosena shook her head immediately. “You’re wrong! Just because he did bad stuff in the past doesn’t mean he’s a bad person. He’s the best father in the world! And whatever you think he did- he’s innocent.”

Was there any easy way of letting a child know that she had put all of her faith into the wrong person. “We have proof,” he told her as gently as he could. “It shows that your father-”

“Let me see!” Rosena demanded, a scowl on her face. 

Harry blinked a couple of times, and then immediately shook his head. “Absolutely not. Some things are not meant for eyes as young as yours.” He tried to change the topic, not wanting to let Rosena think for even a moment that she’d be allowed to see the photos. “Look, a good friend of mine is going to get here soon, and she’s going to sit with you and help you figure out where you’re going to go from here. Her name is Luna, and she’s very nice. But right now, I need to get back to work,” to make sure criminals like your daddy don’t get away went unspoken. “Will you be alright here on your own?” The girl turned her head away from him and let out an annoyed huff, and Harry had to refrain from laughing at just how much Rosena resembled her father. “There will be people right outside this room if you need anything, okay?” 

Then he got up and left the room, ready to get to his desk and start on the mountain of paperwork that was surely awaiting him. They’d been searching for him for years, and there was no way that Harry was going to let that bastard get off on something like a technicality. Not after they’d finally caught Tom Riddle.

,,,

There was an annoyed look on Shacklebolt’s face when he peered into Harry’s office. “Riddle said that he refuses to talk to anyone but you.”

Harry frowned as he looked up from the report he’d been in the middle of filling out. “Me? But why?” He suspected that he knew the answer to that already, but he’d never let on such a thing to anyone else. 

His boss just shrugged. “Don’t know, don’t care. Get his statement, see if you can get a confession.”

Shacklebolt turned to walk away, but Harry couldn’t help calling out, “Wait, what about his daughter? What’s going to happen to her?”

Shacklebolt frowned. “Lovegood says that there’s no signs of physical or mental abuse that she can see, so she’ll find a foster home while her office looks for something more permanent. And of course, the girl’s only a minor, so every effort is going to be made to keep her out of the papers. The last thing she needs is to have her entire life ruined this early on just because her dad’s a bad apple.”

“She says he’s innocent,” Harry said before he could think about it.

Shacklebolt just snorted. “As if any kid would just turn on the only parent they’ve ever known. Go see him, Potter. And make sure you have the initial arrest report on my desk before you go home for the night.”

Then he was gone, and Harry let out a small groan of frustration. He really was too overworked these days, no matter how much he’d insisted to Hermione that he was just fine. He looked down at his half-finished report, and debated whether it was better to finish it now, or after talking to Riddle. Probably after, if only so he had something more calming to do than heading straight home in a mood.

Harry made his way to the interrogation room, and he could feel the wards in place as soon as he stepped over the threshold. He wouldn’t be able to use any magic in this room, but neither would Riddle. They were on equal ground for probably the first and only time in their lives. 

Harry plonked down into the seat across from Tom, leaned back, and crossed his arms over his chest. “So why do you want to talk to me so badly?” He felt safe enough asking, because he knew that wizards didn’t use things like security cameras or audio bugs. 

Riddle gave Harry one of those charming grins that had been used to get him into and out of so many slippery situations in the past. “The last auror they sent in was such an eyesore, and I didn’t want them to be the last I’ll ever see of civilization.” Then he rolled his eyes, and suddenly looked as annoyed as Harry felt. “Why do you think I asked to talk to you? You’re probably the only bastard in this place who knows that I’m innocent.”

Harry slammed his hands down on the table, though Riddle didn’t even flinch. “Excuse me? What the bloody hell gives you the idea that I know anything of the sort? I’ve been heading the manhunt to find you for the past six years!”

“Exactly! Six years!” Riddle argued, as though that were somehow supposed to prove that he wasn’t guilty. “Don’t be daft, Harry-”

“It’s Potter to you.”

Riddle took in a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, looking more exasperated than anything. “Why are you so certain that I’m the same as he was?” Riddle didn’t need to say a name for them to both know exactly who he was talking about. “A person is defined by the sum of their experiences, and I haven’t faced even half the same things he did! I never thought that you of all people could be such a bigot, Harry.”

Harry scowled, and crossed his arms over his chest. “Some people are just born evil,” he said stubbornly, even though he knew that that was an entirely unfair thing to say. He probably knew better than anyone about how easily a person could change just by changing where they came from. 

Riddle rolled his eyes. “You know, I think that I liked you a lot better when you were an orphan.” Harry drew in a sharp gasp, and Riddle immediately looked apologetic, though Harry knew better than to trust anything from Tom Riddle. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have said that. It’s just- seriously, Harry? You’re living proof that people can change, so why are you so sure that I can’t?”

Because if Riddle could change then Harry would have to admit to being wrong about a whole lot of other things too. Because if Riddle was innocent then there was still a dangerous psycho on the loose. Because if Riddle had really just spent six years lovingly raising his daughter, then it meant that he was probably a better person than Harry was. 

Just like he’d always been able to, it seemed as though Riddle could read Harry’s mind even now, after so much time. And it wasn’t through legilimens, since the wards in the room blocked that ability. “I’m an auror. We deal in hard truths. Do you have any evidence that proves your innocence? Not even beyond a doubt, but at least enough to cause some doubt?”

Riddle gave Harry a look that seemed to call him an idiot, but Harry just waited impatiently for a response. “Rosena’s my evidence. She’s-”

“Yes, I get it, you’ve been father of the bloody year. Because it would be simply impossible to just go out and do bad things when she was asleep or with friends or at school, or whatever.”

It seemed as though Riddle was taking deep breaths to keep himself calm before speaking. “She’s six years old, Harry. Six.” 

Apparently Riddle was more patient than Harry was, because he waited several very long seconds for realization to sink in, and then Harry immediately leapt to his feet, and he probably would have knocked his chair back if it wasn’t bolted to the floor. “She’s your mom?” He tried to wrap his head around the idea of someone raising their own parent, but it was just such a strange thing to think about the logistics of. It also didn’t help that what he knew of Riddle’s mom had always made her out to be somewhat slow and foolish, which was the opposite of the little girl he’d met. 

Riddle shrugged one shoulder. “Amazing how much someone can change if they’re raised differently, isn’t it? Didn’t you always say that he was defeated by the power of love? Have you ever stopped to consider that it’s a power that could be used in more than one way?” 

And, well, yeah. Point taken. Harry had been raised by two parents who loved him and Rosena had been raised by a loving father, and Riddle had been- “Do you ever think that maybe what we did was wrong?”

Riddle shrugged. “Nah. Think of how many lives we saved.”

“And how many we permanently altered,” Harry added in a quiet voice. 

Riddle just shrugged again. “But mostly in positive ways.”

Harry frowned. “Does that make it okay for us to play god?”

“No. Having all three deathly hallows is what made it okay for us to play god.” He gave Harry a pleading look. “I swear that I’m innocent. Why would I go through all the trouble of changing things if I was only going to go and be the same person anyways?”

This time it was Harry’s turn to shrug. “It’s different for you and me, though. We can remember it all both ways.”

Riddle narrowed his eyes. “Look, we both know that I’m innocent, so I just need you to have my back here. I have a little girl relying on me.”

“As if I don’t-” Harry started to snap back, but then he cut himself off when he remembered that he didn’t. Going back and changing things had created a lot of different outcomes for a lot of people, and also meant that some people were never born, including any of Harry’s three children. They had never even existed, except in his memories. But if they were still around, would he ever do anything that would jeopardize his ability to get back home to them? No, probably not. He let out a heavy sigh, then gave Riddle a long, searching look. Strangely, all he could see in the other man’s eyes was authenticity. “Rosena might work as something like a character reference for me, but I’m going to sound like a madman if I suddenly say you’re innocent without any real proof. They’ll think you figured out how to slip past the wards and imperio me or something.”

“Well then you’d best get to work finding evidence, hm? My daughter needs me.”

Harry arched one eyebrow. “You mean your mom?”

Riddle laughed. “Same thing at this point.”

Harry shook his head. “This is so messed up,” he muttered mostly to himself. Then he looked back at Riddle. “I’ll do what I can, but I’m not making any promises.” Then he left the interrogation room, and wondered how the hell he was supposed to finish his report now.

,,,

Tom knew how to be patient, but he still felt irritated to be stuck in jail three entire days after his arrest. The only highlight was from earlier today, when Rosena had been brought into the room, and she’d rushed over to leap into his arms. “I told them you’re innocent,” she assured him. “So now they have to let you go.”

Tom kissed the top of her head. “Oh, you are my clever little witch, aren’t you? Always looking out for me.” Sometimes he wondered about the logistics of this whole situation, but he had memories of being raised by his mother, so he knew that this would work out for Rosena, at least. 

Their visit was over far too quickly, and Rosena had screamed at the top of her lungs as one of the aurors had to physically pick her up and carry her out of the cell. Then Tom was left with nothing to do but sit around and hope that Harry was going to actually try and help, like he’d said that he would. Tom had always known Harry to be a man of his word, but it was hard to say for sure what kind of changes might have occurred because of the actions they’d taken together.

Another entire week passed, with the date for Tom’s bail meeting getting closer and closer, when the doors to his cell opened, and a couple of aurors marched in. Kingsley Shacklebolt was in the lead, a sour look on his face. He cleared his throat once before speaking. “New evidence has been brought to light that indicates less involvement in your accused crimes than you had initially been charged with. You are still being considered a person of interest in this case, but you will be released, and your daughter put back in your are for the time being. Do not leave the area for any reason, and know that if we are given any reason to, you will be taken into custody again.” Then a different auror went around Tom to unlock the cuffs, and then he strolled to the front desk at the most casual pace he could manage. He signed a few papers, and then got his wand back, which felt nice to have in his hands again. 

A slightly dazed looking blonde woman reached out to grab his arm just as he left the building, and he turned to scowl at her, though she seemed unfazed. “Here’s the address for Rosena’s foster home.” She held out a small business card with words scribbled across it in nearly illegible handwriting. “Your girl seems to adore you, and you her. Wouldn’t want to keep you separated for any longer than necessary.”

Tom apparated to the foster home, and knocked politely on the door. When Rosena was the one to answer, he gave her a big grin, and scooped her up into a tight hug. An older looking woman peered out at Tom with a look of disapproval on her face, but she didn’t try to take Rosena back from him. “I got a patronus from Miss Lovegood, and she said you’re all set to take Rosena home. And no offence to you or your daughter, Mr. Riddle, but I sincerely hope to never see either of you again.”

Tom thought that it would be best to just take Rosena home so that she could be back in a familiar environment, but something in him changed his mind about his destination at the last minute, and he found himself instead apparating in front of a shabby looking apartment building. He looked at the plaque with the residents’ names listed on it, and spotted H. Potter next to the buzzer for the third floor flat. 

Tom pressed the button, and waited patiently to hear a familiar voice on the other end. “‘Lo?” 

“Harry. I believe that thanks are in order?”

There was a pause, and then a crackly noise before Harry responded. “No, no, it’s alright. What kind of auror would I be if I left an innocent man in jail just because that would be the easier thing to do?”

“I told you he’s innocent,” Rosena shouted smugly into the small speaker.

Harry let out a startled laugh. “So you did. I apologize for not listening to you right away.”

Tom smiled at his daughter. “It’s not his fault. He did have plenty of good reasons to believe that I’m a bad guy. But hopefully I’ve proven myself enough to avoid any such accusations in the future?” 

There was a click as the front door to the building unlocked, and Tom’s grin grew wider as he carried Rosena to the lift. He let her hit the button for the third floor, and then they made the short trip in silence before the doors opened, and Tom stepped out into a narrow hallway. He knocked on the only door in sigh, and it swung open a moment later.

Harry looked utterly exhausted, with dark purple bags under his eyes. “You look terrible.”

Harry snorted. “Gee, thanks.” Then he stepped aside so that Tom could enter the flat and look around with curiosity, to see how much it had changed since he’d last been inside. “Tea?” Tom nodded distractedly, and Harry retreated in the direction of the kitchen, while Tom continued to inspect the place.

There, right in plain view on the mantle where anyone could spot it, was a framed magical photograph of three grinning teens. A redheaded boy, a black-haired boy, and a curly-haired girl. They all looked so happy, and Tom wasn’t sure what to think of that picture. It shouldn’t even technically exist. 

“I had it in my pocket,” Harry said suddenly from behind Tom. And Tom definitely did not get startled, which was good, because he wouldn’t want to accidentally drop Rosena. “When we changed everything,” Harry clarified. “We got back, and everything had changed, but I still had that picture. I know it’s a strange thing to have on display when I was technically never even friends with either of them, but it helps, I think. To remind myself of everything I gave up when I changed things, so that I won’t ever be tempted to try it again.”

Tom pressed his lips together in a flat line, and knew that Harry wouldn’t appreciate any hollow words of comfort. Tom couldn’t really understand what Harry had gone through upon returning to the present, since Tom had had nothing to lose, and everything to gain. He’d never really thought about how much Harry had lost. His best friends, his wife, his children, his surrogate family, his destiny. “I should have tried seeing you sooner,” Tom admitted. “I could claim that it’s because I thought you wouldn’t want me around, but the truth is that I was the one who didn’t want to see you. What we did gave me everything I could have ever wanted, and I didn’t want to admit that you were the one who gave it all to me.” 

Harry shrugged. “Makes no difference now. What’s done is done.” He gave Rosena a strange look, and then took a few steps back so that he could sink down onto his couch. “We’re the two people in the world who would sound most foolish talking about what-ifs, and yet I can’t help thinking about them sometimes.”

Tom sat down on the seat across from Harry, and kept Rosena on his lap. She seemed content to let him do all the talking, and was probably more tired than she was willing to let on. Merlin, he should have just taken her home, but he’d been overcome with the urge to visit Harry first. “You made the world a better place, and you got to keep your parents, your godfather, your family friends. It’s not like you went through life alone.”

Harry sighed. “No, and I wouldn’t try to claim that it was. I just can’t help missing the things I technically never even had. But, well, I suppose that if I was able to help even just you, it would have still been all worth it. To help even a single person fix their life.”

They were both silent for a long minute, and then Tom suddenly thought of a brilliant idea. “Hey, Harry? You miss being a parent, right? And I miss being able to work full time. Maybe there’s a solution here that hadn’t occurred to us before.”

Harry glanced at Rosena, and Tom’s eyes followed the gaze. He saw that her eyelids had drooped shut, and the rise and fall of her chest went at the relaxed pace of someone who was sleeping. Then Harry looked back up, meeting Tom’s eyes directly. “You want me to help you raise your mom?”

Tom shrugged. “Got anything else going on?”

There was a moment of silence, and then Harry leaned back in his seat. “I spent the past six years of my life trying to get you arrested for some truly heinous crimes. But being an auror was never something I wanted for myself. Maybe if I could just forget about my original life then it would be different, but as it is, being an auror was nothing more than a passing fancy when I was in school. And now that I know I’m not even looking for you anymore, what’s the point in continuing with it?”

Tom tilted his head to the side. “So is that a yes?”

“I suppose, if the little firecracker is willing to accept me, then yeah, why not. It’s as good an idea as any about what I should do with my future.” 

They decided that there was no point in delaying, and Harry packed a few bags and then apparated back to Tom’s house with him. There was no spare bedroom, but Harry didn’t seem to even notice when he moved his things straight into Tom’s room, and Tom cleared out some space in the dresser and closet after tucking Rosena into bed. “What are you going to tell your boss?”

Harry shrugged. “Probably to shove it. He’s been giving me way too much work lately anyways, so he’d deserve to hear it.”

Tom laughed, and then they both settled into bed. Strangely, there was no awkwardness between them at all, even though they were sharing a bed. Tom wondered if that was because of the future they had in store, or because of the past that they’d technically never shared.

,,,

6 Years Ago

,,,

Tom showed up on Harry’s doorstep, well aware of just how pathetic he looked. But Harry was a kind person, maybe even too much for his own good, and he let Tom in out of the pouring rain, and offered to make him a cup of tea. “Surprised you’re here,” Harry admitted. “Wouldn’t think you’d want to come anywhere near a muggle residence, let alone mine.”

Tom shrugged. “I’ve had some time to reflect. I believe I know where things went wrong to begin with.”

“You mean besides when you killed my parents?”

Tom rolled his eyes. “Besides that. It’s not your upraising that caused problems, it was mine. Or going back even further, it was my mother’s. I believe that if she had been given the chance to thrive with a family that actually cared for her, she never would have been so desperate as to use love potions, and she would have possibly been spared some of her madness.”

Harry frowned as he set down a mug in front of Tom. “And why are you telling me this, exactly?”

Tom pulled out his wand, and Harry recognized it as the one that had once belonged to Dumbledore. “I know you have the cloak and the stone. If we put all three together, I don’t think that there’s any limit to what we could accomplish.”

Harry laughed. “And you think that I’m just going to hand them over to you?”

Tom shook his head. “No, of course not. I would be a complete idiot to think that I’ve ever given you any reason to trust me. But the two of us could work together.”

“And accomplish what, exactly?”

Tom grinned, and clapped his hands together. “I want to change history. What do you say, Harry Potter?”

**Author's Note:**

> Forgive me, but I do only have a vague awareness of what I write when I'm tired xD


End file.
